What is Mandibular Tori (Dental Torus?)

I had no idea what mandibular tori was, let alone that I had it, until about 10 years ago on a trip to the dentist. A dental assistant asked the dental technician permission to look at my mouth so she could learn how to get X-rays on patients with mandibular Tori. This type of torus may interfere with the fitting of dentures, and in cases where the lump becomes large enough, it can be difficult for the patient to eat, in which case the removal may be recommended.

Most sources agree that mandibular tori are benign growths that do not require treatment unless they begin to interfere with the function of or get in the way of properly fitting dentures or other dental devices. If surgery is necessary, the removal can be accomplished by an oral surgeon or periodontist.

What is Mandibular Tori?

Torus is a bone growth in the mouth. Torus or Tori (plural) is noramlly benign growth of new bone. Oral health experts consider mandibular tori as a benign condition. However, the growth is sometimes mistaken for cancer by patients when they discover it.

In the case of a torus Palatinus, a version that is formed on the palate, growth always occurs along the midline of the palate. Mandibular tori exists in contrast to the torus Palatinus, in the lower jaw, always occuring on the inner side of the lower jaw.

Mandibular tori (or mandibular torus in the singular) is the oral cavity abnormalities in which hard bony lumps form on the inside of the right lower jaw. In some cases, the jaw bone growth varies. However, most cases of lower Tori occur bilaterally and spontaneously, and there is nothing you can do to prevent their appearance.

Mandibular Tori removal and treatment

Mandibular tori are typically clinical findings with no treatment required. As clinical findings, lower Tori operations occur rarely, but involve an incision in the removal of gums and bones.

What is the treatment for lower Tori? Generally, treatment for problematic mandibular tori is surgical removal of the lump. Extra bone growth can be removed when it is financially feasible.

If torus needs to be removed, surgery is usually performed via maxillofacial surgeon. This article describes a case study that involves the surgical removal of the lower exostosis with a device that serves as an alternative to a scalpel.

Mandibular tori are usually present near the premolars and above the top spot in the mylohyoid muscle, attached to the mandible. The surgeon will cut away torus whole or shave growth to a smaller size, depending on how big the growth is and where it is located.

Considerations for the removal of mandibular tori come to light only when excessive verbal interference by bone growth occurs. Most of the time no treatment is required, except in cases where surgical removal of the torus is required to accommodate the lower or upper denture.

Torus does not require treatment unless it becomes large to the point where it interferes with denture placement or mouth functions, or the patient suffers from repeated traumatic surface ulceration.

Only five to 10 percent of the U.S. adult population suffers from the condition Mandibular Tori. It is believed that mandibular tori are caused by several factors. Mandibular Tori increases with men - passed down from father to son. Mandibular tori causes also include genetics.

According Maxillofacial Center for Education and Research website, mandibular tori affects approximately 27 out of every 1,000 people, and is particularly common among people of Asian descent. The prevalence of Mandibular Tori varies from 5% - 40% and are less common than bony growths occurring on the palate, known as the torus Palatinus.

Consequently, it is believed that mandibular tori are the result of local stresses and not solely on genetic influences. These oral stress causes include bruxism of the teeth. There remains some speculation whether the underlying roots of the teeth and lateral pressure of roots actually cause Mandibular tori. Research shows mandibular tori may be due to stress on the local lower jaw which may be caused by teeth grinding (called bruxing.)

Grinding of the teeth and jaws to contribute to the creation of the lower Tori, and genetics may be involved in this process. However, the reasons why tori form is not fully understood, in some cases, they appear to be an indication that the patient has a condition such as temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ), while in other cases, the growths seem completely random.

Mandibular Tori Symptoms

Mandibular tori is usually not enough serious enough of a problem to require medical / dental attention, since Torus mandibularis usually does not cause symptoms. In some cases, people have a sore jaw with the tori or have such large lumps that food can get stuck under them and cause irritation. For most patients, the only time to worry about mandibular Tori is if you have to get dentures, because they can keep the dentures from staying in place.

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